In the event of an accident or trauma, patients are typically transported by ambulance to a hospital or similar receiving location. Transport by ambulance can be acceptable when there are only one or two patients, as is the intended design for such a vehicle. However, transporting large numbers of patients can be expensive and time consuming with the limited capability of an ambulance or small vehicle. In disaster situations, or with mass evacuation of patients, the lack of ambulance transport can become problematic, at the least. For example, during hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans was unable to effectively evacuate their walking population, let alone those requiring special assistance. Similarly, many cities that were able to evacuate before a hurricane were ineffective when it came to evacuating hospitals in an emergency situation. Hospitals and other agencies face the same difficulty when evacuating or transporting large numbers of stable but non-ambulatory patients.
Thus, a need exists for an efficient and cost effective mass casualty transport device, system, method, and kit.